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Thursday, June 23, 2011

Weekend Vacation Part 2- Indian River

After the wedding, we drove a little farther NorthWest to visit Brandon's family. His family is from Indian River and even though his sister Mackenzie goes to school in Southern Michigan, she still spends her summers up here! It was such a relaxing trip. Exactly what we needed.

{This road is named after Brandon's family. Grandpa & Grandma Hackelberg along with Uncle Scott rest in peace down this road near the family's farm}

When we reached Gram's house she had a delicious Chicken dinner waiting for us. She is always the perfect hostess.

We took a long walk through the trails in the woods on her property and by the time we were back, Josiah had a swollen eye. Looks like he has allergies like his Mama and Daddy!

The rest of the night we spent watching Cars while eating Twizzlers and homemade popcorn.

The morning came way too fast. We said our goodbyes and headed towards Petoskey to visit Mackenzie.

On the way we took a few pit stops.

When I was a kid my Grandparents took me to The Cross in the Woods, the world's largest Crucifix, located in Indian River, Michigan. When I first met my husband he was telling my about his family and where they were from... right around the corner from this shrine I had visited as a kid!

Anyway I always love visiting the Cross in the Woods. It is a peaceful place to meditate and praise God for all He has done for us! The cross made of one redwood tree that measures a whopping 55' tall by 22' wide!!! The corpus was added later, designed and sculpted by Marshall Fredericks.

The body of Christ is made of Bronze and weighs 7 tons! Its awe inspiring to look upon this amazing piece of art. Also on the grounds are other statues such as The Holy Family, St. Peregrine, Kateri Tekakwitha, and Our Lady of the Highway.

They built a new church a while back that is just beautiful. The entire front of the Sanctuary is made of windows so you look over the grounds and onto the Cross in the Woods. They also have pews and and Altar outside for Summer services!